Braxton defends the PG Era - Blinded By Nostalgia

One of my favorite shows as a young child was the Power Rangers. I wouldn't miss an episode for anything. You couldn't convince me that any other show on television was better. The Power Rangers was a great show. I was entertained everyday from 430 to 5 waiting to see what would happen next. I watched 2 or 3 episodes on Netflix a few weeks ago and realized just how terrible the show was. The acting left a lot to be desired and the script is essentially the same from one episode to the next. The comedy spots from Bulk and Skull are still mildly amusing. The concept is great (although it is clearly targeted at a younger audience) due to it continuing into its 3rd decade.

How does this relate to the WWE/WWF?

The Attitude Era was outstanding. The main event scene was fantastic. Austin, Rock, HHH, HBK, Taker, Bret Hart, Kane, Mick Foley, Kurt Angle were all outstanding wrestlers and talkers. What made the main event scene so good was that it was unpredictable. You knew that any of them could beat any of the others on any given night. You had guys like Benoit and Jericho (future main eventers) feuding for the IC belt. The tag division was also great. E&C, Hardys, Dudleys, NAO, Rock & Sock... to name a few.

We go on youtube and watch the famous matches like TLC II (or pretty much anything from WM17) or the brutal match between SCSA and HHH at No Way Out 2001, or maybe Angle vs Rock vs HHH at SS2000. Mankind thrown off the cell. Jericho becoming "champion" and having it taken away.

What we don't watch are the awful hardcore championship matches (15 minute battle royal at WM16 ring any bells) and the 24/7 stipulation. Do you go back and watch Steve Blackman highlights? (minus the Shane McMahon spot of course) Hardcore Holly (bleh.) Chyna feuding with Jericho? Was the Godfather good for anything other than his ring entrance? "I did it for The Rock" was such an awful angle that HHH had to take credit just to save it. Mae Young and Mark Henry?

Don't miss the message here. I loved the Attitude Era. I wouldn't miss an episode for anything. You couldn't convince me that any other show on television was better... (familiar?)

The IWC has the Attitude Era on such a high pedestal that they won't let anything else be good. They are blinded by nostalgia. I encourage the IWC to step back and really look at the Attitude Era for what it is that way you can be more open minded and fair towards the PG Era.

Comments

What we don't watch are the awful hardcore championship matches
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Speak for yourself, i eat all those up, including steve blackman, raven, kane hardcore holly/crash 24/7 rule. The thing that made it so good, even the "bad" matches were entertaining.

Although i get what your saying, i loved it all.

It's just not as creative as it used to be (same can go to your power ranger reference)

I love the hardcore matches and the 24/7 rule. I think you hit it on the head when you said that one of the greatest things of the Attitude Era was it being unpredictable. Personally, that's the problem with the PG Era. It became too predictable. It followed the same formula as the Power Rangers. Now it's not being PG that's the problem. The problem lies in creating unpredictable storylines. I think the WWE tried to please the sponsors, Linda's supporters when she running for office, and selling merchandise (since Cena's merchandise is the hottest seller), that he stopped trying to be innovative. Plus, the lack of competition stopped the push of trying to be innovative. The word here is COMPLACENCY. Now that many trusting/possibly future stars have left the WWE (like Carlito, MVP, etc.) and CM Punk holding out on being signed, I think the struggle Vince has now is keeping the current stars from leaving. PG has nothing to do with it. Being still a visionary and creative is WWE's problem.

I loved those hardcore matches lol even if they were more goofy than anything. I've always thought those raoming hardcore matches would be cool to bring back for the pg era cause they weren't all that violent lol

I just did a quick youtube search on Steve Blackman. The best thing that came up was him doing "stand up" at a nursing home. He got annoyed and attacked the senior citizens. Great entertainment right there.... His gimmick was a kendo stick. He was awful on the mic. Thats it. You are helping me to make my point. You are quick to come to the rescue of a guy who was forgettable simply because he came from the Attitude Era (I can already feel the backlash.) If a new guy came out on Raw tomorrow who had a gimmick of a martial artist that was awful on the mic the IWC would be tearing him apart.

I just did a quick youtube search on Steve Blackman. The best thing that came up was him doing "stand up" at a nursing home. He got annoyed and attacked the senior citizens. Great entertainment right there.... His gimmick was a kendo stick. He was awful on the mic. Thats it. You are helping me to make my point. You are quick to come to the rescue of a guy who was forgettable simply because he came from the Attitude Era (I can already feel the backlash.) If a new guy came out on Raw tomorrow who had a gimmick of a martial artist that was awful on the mic the IWC would be tearing him apart.

Hey i love all the gimmicks like that, Steve Blackman was in fact a great ring worker and martial artist, he actually has his own school opened up now. The wwe didn't use him to is full potential, they did the same with Raven. Like everyone else, i have different taste in wrestlers. I loved Crash, Hardcore Holly, Raven, Steve Blackman and Tajiri, for the fact they were different. Just because a person doesn't like the character, or feel they didn't have mic skills, doesn't mean everyone else feels the same way.